River City Ransom (street gangs) was great fun, the first time I enjoyed a pre-16 bit beat-em-up. The game mechanics were simple, but the game held my interest just long enough for me to beat it. It was reasonably lenient too, with the enemies giving you plenty of space once you'd been knocked down.

Apparently my count was wrong and I've beaten 75 games this year. Oops.

Seems I miscounted somewhere along the line, so I corrected that. I had a LOT of fun with this topic over the year. It really inspired me to play a lot of stuff in my backlog that I just kind of had sitting there. I also enjoyed discovering some other games that I would have never heard of had I not seen other forum members beating them here!

I also just want to add, at no point did I ever intend to use this topic to brag about what I've beaten. I was much more interested in seeing what kind of games everyone else was playing so that I could get an idea of what I may be interested in in the future!

Personal Top 10 Games of the Year

10. Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin - DS

I played through most of the handheld Castlevanias this year, with the only exception being Circle of the Moon, which I beat years ago. Out of all of them, I found this one to be the most original and entertaining of the bunch. The story was actually interesting in this game, and the portraits allowed for some more unique settings than in other Castlevania games. The tag system with the two main also helped to make this game more appealing to me, as it kept things fresh in a genre that involves quite of a bit of grinding for items.

9. Angry Birds - iPhone

I played a lot of iPhone games this year, and this one has the distinction of having the best controls I've come across on the platform. Platformers with virtual d-pads are a dime a dozen, but this game was designed around it's simple touch screen controls, and the overall quality of the game is made apparent by this.

8. Baseball Superstars 2010 - iPhone

One of the biggest hidden gems of the year IMO is Baseball Superstars 2010. It plays like Baseball All-Stars on the NES, but with a deep RPG-like experience blended in as well. The "My League" mode alone provided me with HOURS of entertainment. Baseball Superstars 2011 came out recently, and is sure to be on my "Games Completed" list for the coming year!

7. Megaman 9 - XBLA

Megaman 9 was one of the most difficult, unforgiving platformers that I've played in my life... and I loved every second of it. The trial and error involved in this game drove me crazy at first, but I soon learned to appreciate the beauty of the level design because of it. Megaman 10 was great as well, but I found it to be a bit easier, and less memorable because of it.

6. Super Metroid - SNES

This was my first time ever playing through Super Metroid, and now I see what all the hype was about. Not only was the gameplay addictive, but the atmosphere in this game made it stick in my memory as well. Everything leading up to, and including, the showdown with Riley made for one of my favorite gaming moments of all time!

5. Donkey Kong '94 - Gameboy

How have I not heard of this game until 2010?! Without a doubt, one of the best puzzle/platformers I have every played, and the best Gameboy game I have ever played, period. The one hundred levels in this game became harder and harder as it progressed, and it kept me wanting more. I had a hard time turning the Gameboy Color off with this one!

4. Cave Story - PC

One of the first games that I beat this year, and the one of the most memorable as well! This game could survive on its charm alone, but the Metroidvania gameplay succeeds in making it an absolute classic! Plus, its free, so its got that going for it!

3. Dragon Age: Origins - 360

This game sucked countless hours out of my life, and I still wish it would have never ended. I usually don't have the patience for RPGs now that I'm older and have more responsibilites, but I became completely immersed in this game's story and world. Awakenings was a more than worthy expansion, and I cannot wait to play Dragon Age II this year!

2. Super Meat Boy - XBLA

SO... MUCH... FUN... Super Meat Boy is EFFING HARD, but the instant respawns made this platformer much less frustrating than it could have been. The constant references to retro games and the multiple indie game character cameos made an amazing game even more memorable, and the secrets and collectible bandages kept me coming back again and again.

1. Fallout 3 - 360

This is maybe my most favorite game of all time. I know that its saying a lot, but I put well over sixty hours of my life into this game, and I would do it again and again. It's THAT good. The many different ways to play the game and the absolutely huge world have to make it one of the most replayable games in existence! I recently acquired New Vegas, so hopefully I find that good enough to make it onto my top ten list for next year!

I played through most of the handheld Castlevanias this year, with the only exception being Circle of the Moon, which I beat years ago. Out of all of them, I found this one to be the most original and entertaining of the bunch. The story was actually interesting in this game, and the portraits allowed for some more unique settings than in other Castlevania games. The tag system with the two main also helped to make this game more appealing to me, as it kept things fresh in a genre that involves quite of a bit of grinding for items.

Just finished this recently myself and I pretty much completely agree with you. The tag feature was much better implemented than I expected and didn't feel like a cheap gimmick. Portrait of Ruin does have a lot of personality too. Some of the enemies are just hilarious. Skeleton bartender, demon maids, some really funny stuff. Of all the post Symphony of the Night Metroidvanias, I've only played Order of Ecclesia and this game through to completion and while Order of Ecclesia wasn't on Symphony of the Night's level, I think Portrait of Ruin is at least in the same league

I played through most of the handheld Castlevanias this year, with the only exception being Circle of the Moon, which I beat years ago. Out of all of them, I found this one to be the most original and entertaining of the bunch. The story was actually interesting in this game, and the portraits allowed for some more unique settings than in other Castlevania games. The tag system with the two main also helped to make this game more appealing to me, as it kept things fresh in a genre that involves quite of a bit of grinding for items.

Just finished this recently myself and I pretty much completely agree with you. The tag feature was much better implemented than I expected and didn't feel like a cheap gimmick. Portrait of Ruin does have a lot of personality too. Some of the enemies are just hilarious. Skeleton bartender, demon maids, some really funny stuff. Of all the post Symphony of the Night Metroidvanias, I've only played Order of Ecclesia and this game through to completion and while Order of Ecclesia wasn't on Symphony of the Night's level, I think Portrait of Ruin is at least in the same league

I actually really enjoyed Order of Ecclesia, but I would have to agree that it wasn't really on par. WAY too much grinding was required in that game.